West Ham United handed manager Sam Allardyce the perfect 60th birthday present by climbing into fourth place in the Premier League with a 3-1 win at Burnley on Saturday.

Following a goalless first half, the Hammers moved up a gear and took the lead when striker Diafra Sakho headed beyond Tom Heaton to maintain his remarkable record of scoring in each of his five top-flight starts.

Strike partner Enner Valencia then thumped home a header of his own to extend the lead, before George Boyd got one back for the Clarets. The points were made safe with 20 minutes to go when substitute Carlton Cole netted the third.

Victory means the Upton Park outfit move into fourth place in the Premier League standings after picking up their third win from four and Allardyce – who celebrates his 60th birthday on Sunday – paid tribute to his goal-scoring strike trio.

He told the club’s website: "What about those two headers – they were absolutely fantastic. These two lads, [Sakho and Valencia] have come in and hit ground the running and they're certainly making a name for themselves.

"We then felt that with Enner, having been away to South America and having played twice, he's got a goal, brilliant. Let's bring Coley on and lo and behold for me today, the front three scored three goals today. In the end it looks like a comfortable win but it was never that comfortable.”

Both Sakho and Valencia’s headers were the result of attacking play and good crosses from full-backs Carl Jenkinson and Aaron Cresswell, and Allardyce heaped praise on the defensive duo too.

He enthused: "I asked them to get in wide areas and to do it quicker. Then they come up with two unbelievable crosses, one from Aaron Cresswell, for a great Sakho header and then an unbelievable cross again from Carl Jenkinson and a brilliant header from Valencia.

"They're young, they're enthusiastic and they've got lots of energy. They've got quality on the ball and not only do they get up there, they get back.

“That's the key element. You've got to have the capacity to get all the way back into your position as quickly as you can and both these lads can do that. Their outstanding quality has put us on the road to victory."

West Ham return to Upton Park in their next Premier League fixture, with second-placed Manchester City the visitors to east London.